There is a specific kind of magic buried in a box of old 35mm slides. When you hold them up to the light, they look like tiny, glowing jewels, but it isn’t until you scan them—revealing the glory hidden in that small frame—that the true story begins to unfold.
Today, I’m diving into my personal collection to share two stunning captures that have bridged the gap between the analogue past and the digital present. These aren't just photos of insects; they are time capsules of light, colour, and a delicate ecosystem that remains as mesmerizing today as it was the moment the shutter clicked decades ago.
The Art of the Macro Slide
For many modern photographers, "macro" means expensive mirrorless lenses and focus-stacking software. But for the original photographer of these slides, it meant patience and precision. Shooting butterflies on 35mm film—specifically slide film—was a high-stakes game. You didn't have a screen to check your exposure. You didn't have 1,000 shots on a memory card. You had 36 frames, a steady hand, and the hope that the wind wouldn't blow the moment you squeezed the trigger.
The results, as you can see in these scans, possess a "soul" that is often missing from clinical digital photography. There’s a certain grain, a specific warmth to the oranges, and a creamy texture to the out-of-focus highlights (the bokeh) that only vintage glass and chemical film can produce.
The Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) in a Dreamscape
The first slide reveals a stunning Small Copper butterfly. This specimen is a masterclass in nature’s colour palette.
The Composition
What strikes me most about this shot is the contrast. The butterfly is perched atop a soft, ethereal bed of what looks like thistle down or dandelion seeds. The chaotic, wispy white texture of the plant material creates a "halo" effect around the subject.
The Details
The Wings: Look at the vibrant, fiery orange of the forewings, punctuated by those bold, black geometric spots. The Small Copper is famous for this "shimmering" effect, which is captured perfectly here.
The Underside: You can see the darker, more cryptic hindwings peeking through, showing how these creatures camouflage themselves when they close up.
The Antennae: Even in an old slide, the delicate, white-ringed antennae are sharp, guiding our eye toward the butterfly’s head as it rests amidst the silk.
This image reminds us that beauty doesn't always require a grand landscape. Sometimes, it’s found in a square inch of a meadow, caught in the late afternoon sun.
The Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) at the Feast
%20blog.jpg "Meadow Brown Butterfly Feeding on Purple Thistle")
The second slide takes us from a soft dreamscape to a vibrant, high-contrast feeding session. Here, we see a Meadow Brown (or a similar member of the Satyrinae subfamily) perched on a purple wildflower, likely a knapweed or thistle.
The Macro Perspective
In this profile shot, the slide reveals the intricate "eye spot" on the forewing. In the wild, this spot acts as a decoy, tricking predators into attacking the wing's edge rather than the butterfly's body.
Texture and Tone
The Proboscis: If you look closely at the scan, you can see the butterfly’s proboscis extended deep into the purple florets. This is nature’s straw, perfectly adapted for drinking nectar.
The Fur: One of the joys of high-resolution scanning is seeing the "fur" on the butterfly's thorax and legs. It gives the creature a tactile, almost mammalian quality that we often miss with the naked eye.
The Background: The lush, blurred green background (likely out-of-focus grass) makes the subject pop, a testament to the shallow depth of field achieved by the photographer's macro setup.
Why 35mm Slides Still Matter
You might wonder why I bother scanning these old slides instead of just going out and taking new photos with a modern DSLR. The answer lies in the history of the gaze.
Every slide in this collection represents a moment where a person stood still in a field, held their breath, and waited for a butterfly to land. There is a sense of "the hunt" and "the craft" embedded in the emulsion. When we digitize these, we aren't just making a copy; we are rescuing a moment from the degradation of time.
Slides are prone to colour shifting, dust, and mold. By bringing them into a 6000 x 4000 digital format, we can appreciate the technical mastery of the past while ensuring these beauties "fly" forever in the digital cloud.
Tips for Identifying Your Own Garden Visitors
Looking at these slides has inspired me to look closer at my own backyard. If you’re looking to identify butterflies in your area, here are three things to watch for:
Wing Shape and Margin: Is the edge of the wing smooth or "scalloped"? The Small Copper has a relatively smooth edge, while others like the Comma have ragged edges for camouflage.
The Eye Spots: Are there spots on the top, the bottom, or both? Are they "blind" (just a black dot) or "pupilled" (with a white centre)?
The Flight Pattern: This doesn't help with photos, but in the field, it’s a giveaway. Meadow Browns have a "jerky," low-to-the-ground flight, while others soar high in the canopy.
The Legacy of the Unknown Photographer
I don't have the names or dates for these specific slides, and in a way, that adds to the mystery. They are "found art." They belong to an era when photography was a slower, more deliberate process.
Through these scans, we get to see what they saw—the delicate veins in a wing, the dust of scales on a petal, and the vibrant life that exists right beneath our feet. These butterflies may have lived and died decades ago, but thanks to the magic of 35mm film, they are still vibrant, still colourful, and still breathtaking.
Do you have a collection of old slides gathering dust in the attic? I highly encourage you to get them scanned. You never know what tiny, winged wonders are waiting to be rediscovered.
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